Industry News 1/13

KME took part in a relief effort called “Carbon County, PA Helps Sea Bright, NJ” on Nov. 10. Part of KME’s contribution was to perform much-needed routine services for fire departments in the areas of New Jersey hit hardest by the storm. Since the storm hit the East Coast, fire departments in the towns hit hardest have been running non-stop and simply have not had the time to perform routine preventive maintenance on their apparatus. Add to the extreme conditions of high water levels and debris in the roads and those trucks in particular were in need of attention.

KME reached out to departments and scheduled 33 trucks for services, but due to fire department activity, only 21 of those trucks could be serviced due to call volumes in some departments. KME brought and donated all materials and labor to perform complete fluid and filter replacements, as well as give each truck a complete inspection. The list of items that would need attention was given to each department for them to have fixed.

“For KME to step up and say we want to do these services is a huge gesture on their part,” said Fred Migliaccio, director of public works for the City of Long Branch. Migliaccio provided the city’s public works building to give KME the space to safely perform all of the services.

John Kovatch IV, director of customer service for KME, was one of the KME employees who made the early-morning trip to help. “This is how KME gives back, our company is all about giving back,” he said, thanking the employees who gave their time to help out. “It was nice to go down and work hands-on with the trucks and know we made a difference, all of us together.”

If you would like to help, some of the organizations working to bring relief to that area are: Terry Farrell Fund, terrfund.org and gofundme.com/wwwterryfundorg; American Red Cross, redcross.org; ASPCA, aspca.org; Habitat for Humanity, habitat.org; and Save the Children, savethechildren.org

AMERICAN AIRWORKS has been selected by HONEYWELL ANALYTICS to be a master distributor for its self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) flow-testing equipment line, the Posichek3 and their new Posi3 USB units. Posicheks are used to provide documented verification of a SCBA flow-test results and can test all brands of U.S.-manufactured SCBA. Airworks has been a Honeywell (Survivair) distributor for 33 years as an authorized Survivair SCBA warranty and retail center.

SUTPHEN CORP. has announced that Winstead’s Fire Equipment will be its new dealer in Virginia, Delaware and Maryland. Based in Denton, MD, Winstead’s is a full-service dealership offering sales, service, parts and repairs for fire apparatus and EMS vehicles. In business since 2008, Winstead’s also offers pump service and repair, pump testing, electrical repair, Department of Transportation (DOT) inspections and equipment mounting.

“This is truly a great and exciting opportunity for us.” says David Rider, North American sales manager for Sutphen. “At Sutphen, we know that it’s not just about the sale. It’s about the relationships we build, and the ability to provide service and continue that relationship after the sale. Winstead’s comes to us with the ability to be a ‘one-stop shop’ providing everything the customer could ever need. That is something that is very important to us.”

ZOLL MEDICAL CORP., a wholly owned U.S. subsidiary of Asahi Kasei, has established Asahi Kasei ZOLL Medical Corporation (AZM) as its Japanese subsidiary. AZM will advance the expansion and development of ZOLL’s critical-care business in Japan, the second-largest medical market in the world. The new Tokyo-based subsidiary is wholly owned by ZOLL. Seiji Sakano, Ph.D, will serve as president of AZM, reporting directly to Richard A. Packer, CEO of ZOLL.

Targeting growth in the field of resuscitation and critical care, Asahi Kasei acquired full ownership of ZOLL in April 2012. As a member company of the Asahi Kasei Group, ZOLL is accelerating the expansion of operations beyond the US and Europe, with a focus on Japan and other major Asian markets.

The ZOLL AED Plus automated external defibrillator has been marketed in Japan since August 2011 through Asahi Kasei subsidiary Admis Inc. To further expand its Japanese business, ZOLL is working to obtain regulatory approval as quickly as possible for products currently sold in the U.S. and Europe, while reinforcing its sales infrastructure in the country.